His 'Queen'
by WhatATangledWebSheWeaves
Summary: This follows the same storyline as the actual Naruto series, all the way through Shippuden and even a little after, but is mostly OC-centric. Major ShikaOC; minor KibaOC, ShinoOC, YamatoOC all in future chapters. Rating may go up as story progresses.
1. Chapter 1

**Here's the first chapter of Mika's story! O and keep in mind that she's 5 in this chapter. I'll make sure to tell ya'll about any time-skips ;)**

"Kakashi-niisan!" Mika yelled, running through their apartment to her older brother's room and throwing the door open. She crawled up on his bed and began shaking him. "Nii-san, wake up! We're going to be late for the entrance ceremony at the Academy!"

Kakashi Hatake rolled over and looked at the clock and mini-calendar he kept by his bed. Yeah, they would have been an hour late for Mika's ceremony except... "Mika," he began patiently, "your ceremony is next Friday."

Mika stopped shaking him and looked at the calendar too. "Oh..." She hopped off the bed and grinned sheepishly at him. "Gomen, nii-san. I'm just _really_ excited about learning how to become a kunoichi."

Kakashi sat up, smiling at her. "It's all right. I was excited, too, when I was about to enter the Academy."

"I bet you drove Sakumo-ojisan and Kana-obasan up a wall and out the window," Mika teased, giggling.

"It sure did." Whenever she called his father 'uncle' and his mother 'auntie', he was reminded that, despite their closeness, they were only cousins. And all that they had left for family; hence the closeness. Kakashi grinned devilishly at her. "Just like you're driving _me_ up a wall."

He leapt from the bed and grabbed Mika in one fluid motion, the 5-year-old squealing in delight as he hoisted her into the air. Her squeals turned into peals of laughter when his fingers moved to the parts of her sides that were most ticklish. Mika was red in the face by the time that Kakashi stopped and just smiled at her. "Ashiteru, imouto-chan."

"Ashiteru mo, nii-san," Mika replied automatically but sincerely. They both then heard the doorbell chime so Kakashi put Mika down and ushered her out of his room, shutting the door behind her so that he could get dressed. The doorbell rang again as Mika tore through the halls, yelling, "Coming! Coming!"

Undoing both locks, she opened the door just a crack before opening it all the way upon recognizing who was at the door. "Konnichi'wa, Asuma-san!"

"Konnichi'wa, Mika-chan," the Jounin responded, smiling fondly at the little girl. "Is your nii-san awake yet?"

"Hai! He's getting dressed right now," Mika replied. Her face portrayed her confusion as she leaned to the left slightly and noticed another Jounin standing behind Asuma. "Ano…who're you?"

"Oh, I'm Shikaku Nara," the man said in an almost monotonous tone. "Your nii-san asked me to drop by this morning."

"Then come in, " Mika chirped, stepping out of the way and allowing the two men to come in and take a seat at the kitchen island that also served as a table. "Are you hungry at all, Asuma-san? Nara-san?"

"No," came the simultaneous replies as Mika opened up the fridge and pulled out two peach-flavored Greek yogurts, several peaches, and a huge vat of Cool Whip. She set the items on the counter near the blender, pulled up a stepstool, and then proceeded to carefully peel the peaches, discarding the skins in the sink. She then halved each fruit and took the pits out. The fruit, yogurt, and several heaping spoonfuls of Cool Whip were dropped into the blender, the cover was secured, and then the appliance was turned on.

Mika rinsed her hands off before reaching into a drawer and pulled out a Ziploc bag. She dropped the peach pits into the bag as Asuma asked, "Watcha doin', Mika-chan?"

Mika looked over her shoulder, her face straight as she answered, "Makin' breakfast, Asuma-san."

"I mean with the peach pits."

Realization dawned on the girl and she held up the now-zipped bag proudly. "Tira-san, the owner of the fruit stand me and nii-san always go to, said she'll pay me to bring back the seeds from the fruit. She said that because she gives the seeds to her nee-chan and otouto-kun, who give her the fruit she sells." She grinned bashfully as she turned the blender off. "I've tried to ask her to not pay me, but she keeps doing it anyway."

Asuma chuckled; how like Mika to want to do something for someone and not seek compensation of any kind. He watched as she divided the yogurt mixture between two bowls, set a spoon in each bowl, then climbed onto the counter, sitting on the edge of it so that she was facing Asuma and Shikaku. She grabbed her bowl before she raised her soft voice, calling out, "Nii-san, breakfast! Or do you want me to feed it to Bull?"

There was a faint 'boof!' and a cloud of smoke as Kakashi teleported down to the kitchen. He grabbed his bowl off the counter and tousled his cousin's short, wavy, golden hair with a gloved hand, an exasperated smile showing slightly from beneath his recently-donned mask. "I'd rather you didn't feed it to Bull." He turned and acknowledged his fellow Jounins across the island. "Konnichi'wa, Asuma, Shikaku-san."

Similar greetings came from Asuma and Shikaku before Kakashi downed his breakfast with that lightning fast speed he almost always ate at. Mika swallowed a spoonful of her yogurt before whining, "Nii-san…one of these days you're going to either throw up or choke on something because you eat so fast."

Kakashi placed his bowl and spoon in the sink before replying, "Not gonna happen. I have too much experience eating like that to really be affected by either of those things." Mika stuck her tongue out at him before returning to her meal. Kakashi looked at Asuma, "I take it you're here to fill me in on new mission details?"

"Yep. Sorry you only had a day to recuperate from your last mission," Asuma stated ruefully. He then regarded Mika, who had become quiet and subdued at the word 'mission'. "I'm sorry to you too, Mika-chan."

Mika blinked then piped cheerfully, "It's okay, Asuma-san. I may not have been able to spend a _lot_ of time with nii-san yesterday but I enjoyed it." She placed her empty bowl in the sink and slid down off the counter. "I'll just make myself scarce so you guys can talk."

With that, she ran down to her room, grabbed her tan messenger bag that held her wallet and her book, ran back down to the kitchen, and slid her shoes on. "See ya, nii-san, Shikaku-san, Asuma-san!"

"Be safe, Mika!" Kakashi called after her right before the door shut behind the girl. He shook his head and scratched the back of his neck. "Sometimes, I just don't know what to do with her."

Shikaku chuckled a bit. "They can be quite a handful at this age, trust me. I'm going through the same thing."

**There ya have it :) I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, please review ^^**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's Chapter 2 of His 'Queen' and in this chapter, Mika meets two very unique individuals...**

Mika kicked a lone pebble that happened to be lying on the road she was walking, sending it skipping over the dirt road for several feet before it rolled out of her path. Sure, she had said that she didn't mind Kakashi going on missions when she had left their apartment a few hours earlier; but lately, she had been really lonely. She just couldn't bring herself to say so because she knew how much the missions meant to Kakashi and for her.

She turned the corner of a street and noticed a group of six boys, five of them looking at one who looked a little…sad. Her curiosity piqued, she trotted over to them just in time to catch bits of their conversation.

"But why?" the sad boy asked. Mika also noted the swirl patterns on his chubby cheeks and that he was a little more meaty than the rest of the group.

One of the boys, the one that was wearing a cap, answered him in a harsh voice. "Because whatever Ninja team you join always loses. You're too dumb to play!"

Mika reached the outermost member of the group as another boy, this one with dark hair pulled into a ponytail that honestly reminded her of a pineapple, commented, "Look…we won't have an even number without him. You know, the only reason shogi is any fun is because both sides are equal."

Mika couldn't tell why that boy said those things but it brightened the sad boy's face considerably. That is, until the first boy retorted, "But having a pawn like him is the same as not having one at all!"

Silence fell upon the group as the sad boy hung his head dejectedly, turned on his heel, and left through an alleyway behind him. The cap-wearing boy turned around and noticed Mika, causing him to smirk and look at the boy who had stood up for the one that had just left. "See? She can join our game and we'll still have an even number."

Mika feigned shock and put her hands together in front of her chest in an innocent gesture while she gave him a wide grin. "Really? I can play with you?" She dropped the act the next second and grabbed the front of the boys shirt, startling all five boys. She scowled and her voice became harsh. "After how poorly you treated the guy that just left? No way." She let go of the front of his shirt, allowing him to stagger back a few steps, and crossed her arms. "Sorry but I don't play with jerks." She began to walk after the sad boy when she stopped and looked at the pineapple-head. "Are you coming?"

'Pineapple-head' looked shocked for a second then shrugged and said, "Sure."

The two of them walked down the alleyway they had seen the other boy walk down until they reached a street. They alternated which direction they looked before looking at each other and sighing in defeat; he was nowhere to be found.

Mika huffed and stomped her foot, startling the boy beside her. "Dang it! Why did that jerk have to say all those mean things? That boy could get better at playing Ninja if he'd just let him play!"

Her companion sighed and scratched the back of his head. "Hokuto is usually like that. If he doesn't want you to play with him, then forget it; he'll find any reason to say you can't play. What a drag…"

"Who's Hokuto?"

"Oh. He was the boy in the cap."

Mika gave a slight 'oh' as the name and the mental picture of the boy came together. She then looked at the boy next to her and asked sincerely, "Did you mean what you said?"

The boy looked baffled. "What did I say?"

"About shogi not being fun if the team's aren't even."

"Yeah. While that statement _is _true in a literal sense, I said that too because I didn't like how Hokuto was picking on that other guy." The boy's expression became thoughtful and concerned.

Mika gained a similar look and muttered, "I didn't either."

The boy grinned mischievously. "But I seriously thought you were going to beat the snot out of Hokuto. You were kinda scary when you went from being happy to being angry."

Mika grinned mischievously as well. "I know how to read people's emotions so I can manipulate other people pretty well when I want to. It was kinda fun to mess with Hokuto, though."

"It was kind of fun to watch, too," the boy admitted.

Mika suddenly pounded her fist into her hand and exclaimed, "I never introduced myself! I'm Mika!" She offered her hand out to the boy.

"Uh…I'm Shikamaru," he replied nervously, shaking her outstretched hand. He nearly toppled over the next second when Mika started dragging him down the street. He managed to regain his footing and then reached a pace where Mika wasn't pulling him along anymore. "W-wait, Mika-chan! Where are we going?"

"To find that boy that Hokuto was picking on!" Mika shouted happily, flashing a smile at him over her shoulder. Shikamaru felt a slight disappointment when she turned that smile away. "I want to make him feel better so we're going to go find him and play with him." She stopped and grabbed his hand with both of her hands. Her eyes were pleading as she asked, "You do want to play with him…don't you?"

Shikamaru blushed slightly as he stuttered, "Y-yeah. Of course I do."

Mika beamed at him and continued leading him by the hand. "Then we're going to find him!"

Mika sat down on a bench and sighed. It had been _hours _since she and Shikamaru had started looking for the boy Hokuto had picked on, but they hadn't seen him even once. They had even stopped to get some snacks the three of them could share once they found him…

Shikamaru sat down next to her and whined, "My feet are killing me…."

Mika looked down at her feet dejectedly and muttered, "I'm sorry, Shika-kun. I shouldn't have forced you to come with me."

Shikamaru shrugged. "You didn't force me to do anything, Mika-chan. I wanted to come along. But…I think we need to take a break."

Mika giggled sheepishly. "I think so, too."

"Okay," Shikamaru started, standing up. "If you don't mind walking a bit more, I know this really quiet place where you can watch clouds and not be disturbed."

"Sounds great!" Mika stood up too. Shikamaru didn't hesitate to take her hand and begin leading her down the street. They turned down an alley, then onto another street before Shikamaru let go of her hand at the bottom of a set of stairs.

"The place is right up these stairs," explained Shikamaru, as he began climbing the stairs. Mika began to follow after him. When they were about to reach the top steps, Shikamaru stopped abruptly, causing Mika to collide into his back. She heard him say, "Hey…aren't you…"

She looked at where Shikamaru was staring wide-eyed and her expression lit up.

They had found him.

**In case you couldn't guess who the last boy was, it's Chouji ^^ I did my best to do a character insert here so sorry if it's kinda crappy ^^' But if you like it, then click that little button down there and submit a review~~! Ciao!  
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	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, everyone~~~ I know, I know I haven't updated this story in a LOOOONG time and I'm so sorry about that ^^" Anyway here's the next chapter of 'His Queen'!**

"So we teamed up and spent hours and hours looking for you, Chouji-kun," Mika finished, handing her new friend a bag of chips from her shoulder bag. She had just finished telling him how she had stood up to Hokuto and how she and Shikamaru had decided to find him.

Chouji accepted the bag of chips and tore it open. "That's so cool." He smiled wistfully. "I wish I could be cool like that…"

Mika pouted at him disapprovingly. "Don't talk like that! You're cool in your own way, so don't compare yourself to others."

"Really?" Chouji asked confusedly.

"Yeah! I mean, if Hokuto had told me that I couldn't play with him, I woulda beat him up!" Mika yelled, pumping her fist in the air.

"Need I remind you that you almost beat him up anyway?" Shikamaru asked before taking a long drink of his juice.

Mika thought for a second and then grinned bashfully. "Guess I did, huh?"

Chouji chuckled a bit. He had to admit, he was pretty surprised that these two had taken the time to find him, cheer him up, and even encourage him. But what surprised him even more were the snacks. It was as if they knew that he loved barbeque chips…

"Want some juice, too, Chouji-kun?" Mika inquired, offering one of the two remaining fruit juice boxes to him.

Chouji looked surprised before smiling brightly and saying, "Sure."

He poked the straw through the hole and took a long slurp. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve when he was finished. He looked to his left and saw Shikamaru lying on his back. "Watcha doing, Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru looked at Chouji then back up at the sky. "Gazing at the clouds."

Chouji and Mika both exchanged a glance before looking up at the clouds and laying back too. A few seconds of silence passed before Mika giggled impishly and pointed at the clouds. "That cloud looks like a pot sticker that someone stepped on."

Both boys followed the imaginary line created by Mika's finger before laughing too. Shikamaru glanced at the other clouds in the sky before pointing at one that was a little to the right of Mika's squashed-pot-sticker cloud. "Well, that one looks like a toy shuriken that one of my family's deer chewed up."

The three of them shared another laugh before Chouji pointed and said, "That one looks like a dog."

"Maybe because I am a dog," a tired-sounding voice responded, startling all three children. Mika and Shikamaru turned onto their stomachs and saw Pakkun standing with his face just above Chouji's. The awkward silence, interrupted only by the wind, didn't last long before Mika, Shikamaru, and Chouji were rolling around, laughing, while Pakkun just sat there and watched.

When they were done laughing, Mika asked the dog, "What are you doing here, Pakkun-san?"

Pakkun scratched behind his right ear with his hind leg as he answered, "Kakashi wanted me to stay with you during the time he's away on his mission. So he sent me to find you and to stick with you."

Suddenly, the laughs she had just shared with her new friends didn't mean anything. Her depressed feelings returned as she was reminded that her brother-figure was going on a mission, which meant she was going to be alone at their apartment…

Her negative train of thought was interrupted when Pakkun suddenly said, "Oh, and you'll be staying with someone named Shikaku and his family. You know, just in case he doesn't make it back in time for your entrance ceremony at the Academy."

"You mean Mika-chan's staying with me, my mom, and dad?" Shikamaru asked somewhat excitedly.

"If you're Shikaku's son, then yes." Pakkun stood up and jumped down from the bench they had all been laying down on. "C'mon, Mika. Let's go get your bags ready."

Mika fidgeted and then hugged Shikamaru and Chouji around their necks. "Can they come with us, Pakkun-san? Pleeeease?"

Pakkun sighed. "Fine. Let's go."

()()()()()()()()()()

Mika stepped into her and Kakashi's apartment and ran straight to her room. She pulled two duffel bags out from underneath her bed and began to fill one of them with clothes and the other with some stuffed animals, books, and sketchpads. Pakkun jumped onto her bed and laid down near the pillow while Shikamaru and Chouji stood in her bedroom doorway, looking around at her room.

"Your room's kinda cool, Mika-chan," Chouji commented, stepping into the room after a minute or two. His eyes fell on two urns sitting side-by-side on one of the shelves on Mika's short bookshelf, behind which sat the facial profile pictures of two Anbu, a man with spiky silver hair and green eyes and a woman with long blonde hair and deep blue eyes. He gestured to Shikamaru, who in turn also came over to investigate. "Hey, Mika-chan, who are these people?"

Mika looked up from zipping her duffel bags shut, her sky blue eyes widening a bit when she saw who they were talking about. They became sad a second later even though Mika smiled a little. "That's my Kaa-san and Tou-san. They died when I was a baby. At least that's what Kakashi-niisan tells me…"

Chouji and Shikamaru shared a nervous glance before they looked back at the photos, placed their hands together in front of their chests and offered a small prayer to them. Mika watched in silent awe as her friends turned around and, with slight blushes across their cheeks, asked simultaneously, "Can I carry a bag for you?"

Mika beamed at them. "Sure!" She handed Chouji the bag with her books and stuffed animals and Shikamaru the bag with her clothes. She ran to the bathroom at the end of the hall, grabbed her toothbrush and hairbrush, and shoved them into her shoulder bag before she went back to her room and grabbed the framed photos of her mom and dad, gently sliding them into her shoulder bag behind her reading book. "Shall we go?"

()()()()()()()()()()

"Shin'nyū o yurushite!" Mika and Chouji called out as they removed their sandals after entering Shikamaru's house. Shikamaru, having already removed his sandals, ran ahead and poked his head into the kitchen, saying, "Kaa-san, I'm home."

Mika and Chouji both heard a soft female voice reply, "Welcome back, Shikamaru. Who was that I heard in the hall? Did you bring home some friends?"

"Hai. And I think one of them is going to be staying with us for a while," Shikamaru added as footsteps approached the hallway from the kitchen.

Yoshino Nara stuck her head out into the hallway and asked, "Would it possibly be that girl? I kind of recall your tou-san saying something about helping one of his friends by looking after his little sister…"

Pakkun trotted up to Yoshino and sat on his haunches as he explained what Kakashi had told him. After his explanation, Yoshino smiled and walked around the corner from the kitchen, kneeling down to Mika and Chouji's eye levels. "Well, you are most certainly welcome here, Mika-chan. And you as well, Chouji-kun. Why don't you call your tou-san and kaa-san to see if you can spend the night here?"

Chouji's cheeks gained a slight pinkish hue as he replied, "I-if it's no problem, Nara-san!"

"It's no problem at all. Now, Shikamaru, help Mika take her stuff to the guest room while I finish making dinner."

"Yes, ma'am," Shikamaru responded as he took the bag Chouji was carrying and leading Mika and Pakkun down the hall. As they passed the rooms, he pointed at each one and explained their uses: his room, his father's study, a bathroom, a storage room, another bathroom…

"And here's the guest room," he said finally, opening a door towards the end of the hall. It was a decent sized bedroom that hosted a twin-sized bed, a nightstand with a reading lamp and a clock, and a dresser. Pakkun immediately settled himself on the bed and readied himself to catch some z's while Mika and Shikamaru put her bags on the bed next to him.

Mika beamed at Shikamaru and said, "You know, your kaa-san is pretty awesome!"

Shikamaru chuckled drily. "That's because you haven't seen her when she's angry…"

"Nani?"

"Never mind."

**Translations:  
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**1) Shin'nyū o yurushite - Pardon the intrusion**

**Thank you for being patient with this one. My inspiration for this story kinda flew out the window for a bit and it took forever to get it back ^^" But kudos to Linaewen110 for being my only reviewer so far~~~ I know for a fact that a bunch of you have read this story and favorited it and/or added it to your alert list. Pleeeeease~~~ I just want to hear your input even if it's a few words! I even have anonymous reviews enabled DX **

**But anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter and just FYI I might not be updating until after Christmas ^^ Feliz Navidad!  
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	4. Chapter 4

**Aiya~~~ It's been a while ^^" Blame my crazy, but beautiful, life...and laziness in general. And before you read this, know that it is SHORT. I wasn't too full on the inspiration tank for this chapter. The next one will be longer. Promise!**

**O and I don't own Naruto or any of the Canon characters. I do own Mika and this story :D**

"Shokuji o arigatō!" Mika called out as she finished her meal, placing her hands together in front of her chest. Shikaku, Yoshino, and Shikamaru all stared at her in wonder and then they looked at their half-finished meals.

Yoshino chuckled nervously. "My, my, you sure eat quickly, Mika-chan."

Mika nodded, not even the least bit bashful, and began swinging her legs back and forth. "Yup, but Kakashi-niisan's even faster than me. We always eat fast so that we can spend time together."

Yoshino smiled kindly at her before continuing to eat. "That's good, Mika-chan."

Mika looked around the dining room, making slight observations. Her and Kakashi's apartment only had a kitchen, a living room, two bedrooms, and a bathroom so this dining room was a relatively new experience for her. It was easily as big as their kitchen and even had room for people to move around the table without having to touch the walls, which were decorated with nature photography and a clock. Wait a minute…

Mika shouted in surprise, startling the three Nara's before asking, her cerulean eyes pleading, "Can I go watch TV? My favorite movie is about to come on!"

Yoshino nodded as she clutched her chest; this girl knew how to keep people on their toes. "Sure thing. The remote's on the table out there." The young girl was gone before they could blink twice and Yoshino looked over towards Shikamaru and sighed. He hadn't made any move to finish the food on his plate for several minutes. "You can go as well, Shikamaru."

"Thanks, Kaa-san," Shikamaru replied, leaning over and kissing her cheek before following Mika to the living room.

Shikaku watched as Shikamaru left the room and sighed. "I don't what I got us into, agreeing to watch Mika."

Yoshino leveled a glare at him. "Oh, and you would have left her to fend for herself until the most important day in her young life instead?"

Shikaku shied away from that glare, hastily explaining, "Th-that's not what I meant, Yoshino! I just meant that I didn't think she would be so…energetic."

Yoshino relaxed and sighed as well. "Now, _that_ I agree with."

The doorbell rang then, and before Yoshino could even twitch a finger, Mika called out, "I got it!"

"And she's certainly made herself at home…"

()()()()()()()()()()()

Mika curled into a tighter ball on the couch, her eyes glued to the TV. To her left, she could vaguely hear the sound of Chouji, who had had to go home for dinner and to get his stuff before he could sleep over, munching on chips; and to her right, she could hear Shikamaru stifling a yawn. The movie was just about over and Yoshino had come in at about the half-way point to give them snacks and drinks.

She felt her eyes growing heavy when suddenly Shikaku came in from the hall and commented, "Do you usually watch the credits, Mika-chan?"

Mika turned her head to regard him before looking at the screen again and saw the credits rolling. "Oh…no…I don't…" She turned the TV off and let loose a yawn that left her eyes teary.

Shikaku sighed and smiled hopelessly at the young girl before he walked around the couch and picked her up, her head resting on his shoulder. He carried her down to the guest room and pulled the covers back, careful not to disturb Pakkun who was sleeping on the foot of the bed, before laying her down on the soft mattress. He tucked the comforter and sheet up to her chin and was about to walk away when he noticed that she was holding onto his sleeve.

With a tired voice, she asked him, "C-can Shikamaru-kun and *yawn* Chouji-kun sleep in here with me?"

He smiled gently and nodded and she released her grip on his sleeve, smiling back at him. It didn't take him long to go and get Shikamaru, who had fallen asleep on the couch, but by the time he got back, Mika was asleep. He smiled helplessly as he tucked Shikamaru in next to her and then went back, grabbed Chouji, and tucked him in on her other side. Once he was sure that they were all asleep, he walked back out to the living room, cleaned up the mess from their snacks and drinks from during the movie, and shut off all the lights except for a light in the kitchen, just in case any of the three kids wanted to get up and get a drink before morning came.

He passed by the guest room on the way back towards his room and noticed that he had left the door open. As he reached in for the doorknob, by the moonlight streaming in from the window, he noticed that the three children's positions had shifted slightly so that they were closer together. And that despite the fact that her face had looked peaceful when he had first seen her asleep, he thought that Mika's slumbering face looked even more serene with Shikamaru and Chouji sleeping next to her.

Shaking it off as just a trick of the moon, he shut the door quietly and went to go get some sleep before they woke up and were ready to create more chaos.

**...told you it was short...DON'T KILL ME! *runs***

**Translation:  
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**1)** **Shokuji o arigatō** **- Thank you for the meal**

**Mika: And while Rosey's runnin' away, why don't you push that button down there and review? :3**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Merry late Christmas, everybody! Here's a new Chapter of His 'Queen'!**  
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_**I would have had this posted on Christmas Day, but for some reason, FanFiction wouldn't work for me :(**_

_**To all the people who are subscribed to me, this story, or have put this story in their favorites, I deeply apologize for the lack of updates. I began college at the beginning of the summer and have had very little down time to work on any of my stories. I hope that this chapter, as well as the other chapters that I will be posting today, will more than make up for that.**_

_**Also look forward to New Year's! Not only will we be entering a new year, I'll be posting a special Holiday story~~!**_

* * *

><p>The next day dawned bright and early, much to Shikamaru's displeasure as the warm rays streamed across his face. But, he decided that it wasn't too bad when he suddenly caught the smell of hotcakes in the air. He threw the covers off of himself and shuffled out of the room, trying to rub the last of the sleep from his eyes as he went along. What startled him to full awareness was a blonde blur tearing out of the dining room and crashing into him, sending them both sprawling to the floor.<p>

"Owie…" The blur whined, allowing Shikamaru to identify it as Mika. She scrambled off of him and down the hall until she reached the bathroom and almost literally dove inside, slamming the door behind her.

His mother stuck her head out of the kitchen and her eyes widened a bit when she saw him getting up off the floor. "Oh, goodness, Shikamaru! What happened?"

"I'm…not really sure. I think Mika-chan just ran into me," the boy replied honestly, standing up and walking to the dining area. He took a seat next to Chouji, who was happily wolfing away at his hotcakes. Yoshino brought out a plate with freshly made hotcakes and set it in front of Shikamaru before returning to the kitchen. Right before he took the first bite of his breakfast, Shikamaru asked, "Did Mika-chan already eat?"

"Why, yes. She did," Yoshino replied. "She ate with the same speed that she did last night and even cleaned her plate before she ran down the hall."

"Good morning…" a tired voice drawled. Shikaku shuffled through the kitchen, pecking his wife on the cheek before he took a seat at the table. Everyone present muttered their replies before the man asked, "Is Mika-chan the one in the shower then? I heard water running on my way down the hall."

"She's already in the shower?" Yoshino asked in mild disbelief. "What a strange behavior for a girl her age."

"Not so strange if you consider who practically raised her on his own," Pakkun commented as he came trotting into the room. He scratched behind his ear as he continued, "You'll find that most of her habits come from things that she learned from observing Kakashi, like her eating habits."

"I guess…" Yoshino murmured. "It's still a little strange."

"I didn't exactly deny that, Yoshino-san."

"That's not very nice, Pakkun-san…" Mika muttered as she came back into the dining room fully dressed and ready to go. Upon noticing Shikaku and Shikamaru at the dining table, she immediately perked up. "Good morning, Shikaku-san, Shika-kun!"

'_Shika-kun_…_?_' everybody else in the house thought before Mika began sliding her shoes on.

"I'll see you guys later, okay?" she inquired, making sure that her bag was securely shut.

Shikamaru and Chouji exchanged a look of mild surprise before they asked, "What do you mean 'later'?"

Mika smiled at them. "If I'm going to be staying here for about a week, then I need to make sure that nothing at mine and Kakashi-nii's home will expire while we're gone." After a moment of contemplation, she suggested, "How about we meet at the cloud-watching spot around lunchtime? What do you think, Shika-kun? Cho-kun?"

'_Cho-kun…?_' Despite their slight confusion at her sudden nicknames, the two young boys at the table just nodded in agreement to her idea.

Mika beamed at everyone in the room and ran into the front hall, calling back to them, "Then, I'm off!"

Everyone else barely registered the door opening and closing before Shikamaru made a rather astute observation to Pakkun. "Pakkun-san, if Kakashi-san said that you were supposed to be watching over her while he was gone, then why are you still here while Mika-chan's out running about?"

The dog merely sent a flat glare at him and muttered, "Oh, shush your mouth, pup."

As it would turn out, Mika's trip back to her home would turn out to be pointless, seeing how any items that remained within wouldn't expire for several months to come. Mika was surprised, though, because of the fact that this meant that Kakashi had likely taken the time to do some cleaning before he had left for his mission yesterday. Nonetheless, she still checked her older cousin's room for any signs of mess that she could help clean up.

Sure enough, his bed wasn't made, he had books scattered on his desk, and some dirty clothes strewn across the floor. She set to work immediately, expertly making his bed with hardly a wrinkle to show and his pillows arranged just-so. She cringed at having to pick up her brother-figure's dirty clothes, opting to simply chuck them into the hamper, before she turned her attention to the desk. She closed each of the books and stacked them according to whether they were strategy ideas for field missions or catalogues for weapons and supplies.

The young girl paused when she reached the bottom of the pile. She had stumbled upon an orange book with the picture of a happy man chasing an equally happy woman and the words "Icha Icha Paradise" written in red letters above that picture on the book's front cover. A similar red book laid right underneath the first book, except the woman was hitting the man and the title was "Icha Icha Violence." Mika held one book in each hand, looking back and forth between them before placing the second book neatly on the desk in a separate, third pile and went to open the first book to see what it could possibly be about…

The clock in the living room began chiming, snapping Mika out of her curiosity enough for her to check the digital clock on her brother's nightstand. A shiver ran down her spine at seeing that it was already 10:30. She hastily put "Icha Icha Paradise" on top of what she could only guess was its sequel and tore out of the apartment, barely remembering to shut her brother's bedroom door and locking the front door as she went to go meet her friends for lunch.

As she ran to their meeting spot, Mika quietly wondered if Kakashi would share those books with her when he came back.

* * *

><p><em><strong>You all can take a deep breath now. Mika won't start reading those books just yet lol <strong>_

_**I wasn't exactly brimming with ideas on this chapter, if you couldn't tell, so I just gave you another look on how Mika acts on a regular basis. Next few chapters will be derived from the manga, and shouldn't take too horribly long to come out.**_

_**Hope you all had a Merry Christmas! See you on New Year's~~!**_


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